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Most people do not realize how much power the California Department of Motor Vehicles has until they are forced to come in contact with them.  Unfortunately this is usually as a result of being arrested for driving under the influence.

In California, the law allows the DMV to conduct their own administrative hearing to determine whether an individual was driving with a blood alcohol of .08 or higher, regardless of the outcome of any criminal proceedings.  Because the DMV administrative hearing is not a criminal hearing, they are not held to the same standard and the individual being accused of DUI is not afforded the same constitutional protections as they are in a criminal proceeding.

The DMV hearing officers who conduct these administrative hearings are not lawyers or judges and are not required to have legal degrees.  They act as both prosecutor and judge when conducting a hearing.  They rely on the information they receive from the arresting agency and on whatever blood alcohol results the agency submits.  Although the hearing officers should be concerned with whether or not the arresting officers followed proper procedures when stopping, detaining and arresting an individual, their conduct at the hearing seems to indicate that they are not.  For example, if a police officer does not have reasonable cause to pull someone over, and it can be proven, the court case would have to be dismissed, regardless of the results of the blood alcohol level of the individual.  The same should apply to the DMV Administrative Hearing but, as evidenced in a recent case in Orange County, the DMV continually ignores police officer errors.  In this particular case, the police officer illegally obtained a test showing that the individual’s blood alcohol was over the legal limit and therefore, the case was thrown out.  However, even in the face of a court ruling that the test was obtained illegally, the DMV chose to ignore this and suspended the individual’s license anyway.

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Every summer, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department launches their “Summer/Labor Day National Anti-DUI mobilization” in an effort to minimize the number of people who get behind the wheel after drinking.  The campaign has been in effect for several years now, and the Sheriff’s Department has made the campaign public, hoping to deter people from driving after a night of drinking and partying with friends.

The campaign usually starts sometime in late June or early July and continues through Labor Day weekend.  The Sheriff’s Department puts out extra effort to crack down on drunk drivers during this time because the summer months, after school lets out, is the time when people are celebrating the end of school, graduations and vacations.   Also,  summertime in Orange County, with its beaches and great weather, brings people out of their homes to socialize in their beach communities.

The campaign this year began with the “Avoid the 38” campaign, which started on August 15th and ended on August 24th.  The campaign consisted of officers and deputies from 38 Orange County law enforcement agencies, and resulted in 483 arrests for DUI of alcohol and/or drugs.  This number is up from 374 arrests that were made during the same campaign in 2013.

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If you have been arrested for DUI in Orange County, California, you need a lawyer who can protect your rights and who will make sure that your rights are not violated. Orange County is considered very strict when it comes to driving under the influence and they take it very seriously.

It is understandable that you are probably feeling afraid, confused and angry about what has happened and what you may be facing as a result of your arrest. The whole process of being arrested, taken to jail, fingerprinted and photographed is embarrassing and scary and we are very sympathetic to that. But, the reality of the situation is that a conviction of DUI can have very serious consequences. However, having an experienced attorney can help to mitigate the severity of those consequences.

There are many possibilities that can be challenged in an arrest and potential conviction for DUI. An aggressive defense attorney will raise those challenges, and look for those challenges to see if they apply to your situation. Closely reviewing the police report, viewing any video and listening to audio can sometimes reveal inconsistencies in the police officer’s report and/or testimony.

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Anyone who is arrested for driving under the influence faces the possibility that his or her driving privilege will be suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles. So, not only will you have to defend your case in Court, you will also have to defend yourself to the Department of Motor Vehicle. There are two separate hearings and, one has nothing to do with the other. The Department of Motor Vehicles hearing is an Administrative hearing, not a criminal court proceeding.

The Department of Motor Vehicles’ role is not to determine whether or not you have committed a crime, only to determine whether you were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a violation of the Vehicle Code. This subjects you to suspension or revocation of your driving privilege.

When determining whether or not your driving privilege will be revoked or suspended, the DMV focuses on the following only:

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In California, driving under the influence is considered a serious offense and the consequences to such a crime reflect just how serious it is. The consequences are set up so that it impacts one’s life in such a way as to deter the offense from happening again. However, there are those who do end up with multiple DUI’s, and with each new charge, the consequences become more severe.

While driving under the influence in general are filed as misdemeanors, there are situations where it may be charged as a felony. Among those situations is if you are arrested and charge with a fourth DUI, within a ten-year period of time. As mentioned above, with each new conviction, the consequences become harsher. Four a fourth DUI, the maximum period of sentence for a felony DUI, without any injury to any person, may extend up to three years.

Other circumstances that may cause a DUI to be filed as a felony are: 1) Bodily injury to another person and 2) If you have at least one prior felony DUI on your record.

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You’ve just been arrested in Orange County, California for driving under the influence. What happens next?

The most time-sensitive matter you need to address is the DMV Administrative Per Se (APS), hearing. You have ten days from the date you are arrested to request this hearing, in writing.

What many people don’t know is that when you are arrested for DUI, if you fail the blood, breath or urine test, meaning that you had a .08 or higher blood alcohol level, your driving privilege in California is automatically suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The length of the suspension depends upon whether it was your first arrest for DUI and, whether you were under the age of 21 years at the time.

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Being arrested for DUI is embarrassing and can cause extreme anxiety, as well as the effect is has one one’s day-to-day life. My job is to help you through this long, complicated process. From the DMV Administrative hearing all the way up to Trial, if necessary. In prior blogs, I have discussed some of the different defenses to driving under the influence. There are many ways to challenge a DUI but each case is unique and must be looked at individually. In some situations, when none of the defenses seem to fit your case, you may decide that you want to go to Trial rather than pleading. It is also my job to advise you of both the pros, as well as the cons to such a decision.

There are many charges that can be associated with a driving under the influence. They include DUI of not only alcohol but also prescription drugs or marijuana. Police Officers can now charge you with DUI even if they didn’t see you drive but you were behind the wheel. This is known has having physical control over the vehicle. These types of cases are complex but can be successfully challenged and won. Reckless driving and negligent driving are also charges that can come with a driving under the influence charge. Driving on a suspended license, hit and run, minor in possession of alcohol and furnishing liquor to a minor are other charges that I have defended that were associated with DUI charges.

A conviction for driving under the influence is a serious charge and the consequences can be quite extreme, depending on the circumstances. As discussed in prior blogs, the punishments for DUI vary depending upon whether it is your first, second, third, etc., how high your blood alcohol level was, was there an accident involved, were there children in the car, etc. A conviction results in a loss of your driving privilege for a period of time, along with other consequences. Just the loss of your driver’s license is bad enough. So taking the time to find the right attorney and ask questions is important and can make all the difference in the outcome.

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As a DUI defense attorney, practicing law in Orange County California for more than 20 years, I have handled hundreds of driving under the influence cases. My clients come from all walks of life. They include lawyers, doctors, business professionals, college students, as well as the average person who is just living their life comfortably, until one day when they make a mistake and drive after having had a few too many drinks. This is the time when you need an experienced attorney who will look closely at your case and determine whether or not there is a good defense. The following is a list of some defense to DUI that I routinely look for when evaluating a new case.

1. Can the prosecution prove that you were the one driving the car? This may sound obvious, but surprisingly, there are those situations where police officers come upon a car and there is more than one occupant in the car. If no one is in the driver seat, how can they determine who was driving.

2. Did the police officers have reasonable suspicion to stop you in the first place? As most people know, all an officer has to have in order to pull you over is a reasonable suspicion that you have done something wrong. Challenging the stop is extremely difficult because there are so many reasons an officer can pull you over. Obviously any traffic violation, regardless of how minor, gives an officer reasonable cause. It can be something as small as a taillight out, driving too slow, or forgetting to use your turn signal. So, one of the first things I look at is why you were pulled over in the first place.

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As anyone who has been convicted of driving under the influence can tell you, the consequences definitely have a negative impact on one’s life. But, the consequences of multiple convictions will result in much more than just having a negative impact; it may, and usually does, result in jail time. How long depends upon several things such as 1) how many priors you have; 2) your blood alcohol level for this arrest, as well as the other; and 3) whether the priors are “priorable” meaning were they within the past ten years.

In a situation where the evidence in your most recent arrest for DUI is so overwhelming that a conviction is imminent, your defense attorney should begin to focus on alternatives to jail time. Because law enforcement and courts are cracking down on driving while intoxicated, they are demanding that multiple offenders be ordered to spend time in jail, or in some cases prison, depending upon the circumstances. One alternative to spending time in jail is “SCRAM” and could be the alternative to jail time if you have a good DUI defense attorney. Below is more information on SCRAM and how it works.

SCRAM stands for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor. It is a high-tech monitoring tool used to track an individual’s alcohol consumption and is worn like a bracelet on the ankle of the individual being monitored. The individual wearing the bracelet can be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The bracelet is able to read the blood alcohol level and report those readings to law enforcement. The difference between a blood or breath test and SCRAM is that, unlike blood and alcohol tests, the bracelet can obtain a sample of the wearer’s sweat and can detect any alcohol that may be present in the person’s skin. While being worn, the wearer’s sweat is tested every half hour. Any amount of alcohol detected would be a violation in that those who are fortunate enough to wear the SCRAM bracelet in lieu of jail time are not allowed to consume any alcohol at all, regardless of how little they consume.

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Here are some tips you may want to consider if you are ever pulled over for driving under the influence.

You should always know exactly where your driver’s license, car registration and proof of insurance are. As we all know, whenever you are pulled over by a police officer, you are always asked to produce these three items. If you have been drinking, and you are fumbling around looking for your registration or proof of insurance in your glove box, police officers use this, as “evidence” that you were in some way impaired. If you cannot find your wallet or driver’s license, that will also translate negatively in the police report. The police report will be written in such a way that it looks like you were too intoxicated, or impaired to some extent, to produce the requested items without difficulty. So if you know you are going out and plan on having a drink or two, be sure to be prepared so it doesn’t appear that you are intoxicated if you are unable to find your registration or proof of insurance immediately, when in fact it may just be that your glove box had too much clutter and it took a minute or two to find them.

When you are signaled to pull over by a law enforcement officer, be sure to do so immediately and in a safe manner. You should roll down your window and keep your hands on the steering wheel. Once the officer approaches the car, he or she may ask you if you know why you have been pulled over. They obviously know why they pulled you over, and more likely than not, it’s to find out whether or not you have been drinking. However, they may use some minor violation as an excuse to do so. So when you are asked, “Do you know why I stopped you?” remember, you do not have to answer any questions. You may simply respond by saying “Why?” The officer may then tell you why they pulled you over. Or, the next question may be “have you been drinking” or “have you had anything to drink tonight?”

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